The recent increase in interest in and funding for the biochemical and pharmaceutical fields has created a need for more sensitive sensors that can detect and quantify molecular interactions. The detection of these molecular interactions determine whether chemical and biological processes are at work and, as such, are key to finding new and more effective pharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately, current biosensor technology suffers from a fragility and scarcity of the equipment. Current sensor technology, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), is quite well-known but the equipment requires delicate handling by technicians. Furthermore, such current technologies have sensitivities that are less then desirable. With SPR, the sensitivity of the equipment is limited by the short propagation length of the plasmon.
There is therefore a need for methods and devices that mitigate if not overcome the shortcomings of the prior art. Specifically, there is a need for techniques and devices which are easy to implement, robust, and whose sensitivity is not determined by the short propagation lengths of plasmons.